China cuts off North Korea on key imports

Ng Han Guan / AP

Barely a week after voting yes on new U.N. sanctions targeting North Korea, China has announced it will stop importing key goods from the Hermit Kingdom, per the AP's Joe McDonald:

"The Chinese customs agency said it will stop processing imports of North Korean coal, iron and lead ores and fish at midnight on Sept. 5. ... Other North Korean exports to China also include clothing, knitwear and plastic rain ponchos, which appear not to be affected by the latest sanctions."

"The latest U.N. sanctions are intended to block North Korean exports worth $1 billion — a significant share of total exports valued at $3 billion last year."

Why it matters: "China, the isolated North's main trading partner, has been reluctant to push leader Kim Jong Un's regime too hard for fear it might collapse. But Beijing is increasingly frustrated with Pyongyang and supported a U.N. Security Council ban on Aug. 5 on coal and other key goods."